Very Nice...

This trip to Chile proved to be better than the first. The whole time was spent with my boss, Jean who was raised by her Greek family in Long Island and spent most of the last decade in Italy. We got along pretty well on and off work. In our field of melons, we took ALOT of notes but for one afternoon, we went to Santiago and toured the main office. We finished our work early so we were able to go to the beach called Vina del Mar. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have come to know. Check out the pics in My Photos. If you ever visit this town, La Gatita is a great small seafood restaurant. All I can say is mozerella cheese on clams with a pico sour and a carmenere red wine on the side is a great way to spend a Friday night.

On Saturday I also was able to do motorcross with Danilo. The bike was a 250. I'm not really sure what that means, I just know that it was much faster than the 100 that I practiced on the week before. We weren't exactly in the mountains. It was a dirt bike trail with bumps, curves and hills. So... I hit the first hill too fast... I shouldn't have been in third gear... and I wasn't wearing much protective clothing beside my helmet... and I was planning to be at the airport in 3 hours... I landed fine, slowed down and swallowed my heart back down into my chest. Danilo measured the jump to about 25 ft. I took the rest of the day easy. We ended a little early and went across the street to a traditional Chilean rodeo. Real cowboys with sombreros, ponchos and huge spurs, all costing less than a dollar. I can't thank Danilo enough for showing me a typical Saturday in his shoes.

Sacramento - Phoenix - Miami - Santiago

In one hour I will start my journey back to Chile. This time I will be evaluating the fruit that I helped pollinate last time. My boss is going to be there too, so I definitely regard this time as more of a training time. I doubt if we will have time to go to the beach, but hopefully we will be able to visit the mountains.

Last time I was in Chile I became friends with a co-worker named Danilo. He and his wife enjoy exploring the mountains on their dirt bikes. The pictures he showed me were very cool. When we said goodbye, he insisted that I ride with him when I returned. Well, I had never ridden a dirt bike before, so I contacted people at the Lodi Motorcycle Club for lessons. Yesterday I met with Ralph and he showed me the basics. I learned how to shift, brake and drive up hills. You can view the track on their website. So I'm ready for Danilo and the Chilean mountains.

Before I arrived at the airport, I had breakfast with my roomate Mike and my new friend Robin. She and I met three weeks ago from an internet dating website. She is very cute, friendly and a bundle of energy. I have a lot of fun with her and I anticipate a DTR talk sometime in the near future!